Sea life harvesting such as crab and lobster fishing involves, among other things, fisherman setting traps at various locations spread out over many miles, then retrieving their harvest on a periodic basis. For example, lobster trappers may retrieve and reset their traps every two to four days. The fisherman must estimate the best periodicity with which to retrieve their traps. With experience, fisherman may retrieve a bountiful harvest. In certain situations, however, the fishermen may discover that their voyage to retrieve their traps was not fruitful such that it may have been better to wait a few more days. In certain other situations, the traps can get full quickly, but if a fisherman waits too long to check his traps, the catch may escape the traps after the bait is depleted. In this situation, a trap check that is too late may also yield a small harvest.
Typically, fishermen rebait and reset their traps in either the same location, or a new location based on estimated movement of the intended species. In some situations, the fisherman might have seen increased catch if the traps were relocated to better-performing areas. A fisherman may end up going back to the same location twice to relocate underperforming traps to a better performing location that was traveled to and harvested first.
Small harvests are not efficient especially in view of the high cost of fuel. A lobster boat may use thousands (e.g., 3,000) of gallons of fuel per year. Fuel cost may constitute 30% or more of operating expenses. A run to traps may cost $600.00 for fuel and take 18 hours of work.
Thus, a fisherman that is going to make a large investment in time and fuel costs desires as large a harvest as possible. Therefore, a need exists in the art for improved sea life harvesting.